Posted on Mar 19, 2016
MSG Anthony DiFondi
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I retired from the Army with 24 years of service back in late 2011. In the last 3 years, I have had dreams that I had to go back in the Military and I am now unable to keep up with the young troops and all the changes to the equipment and gear. The dreams are unsettling and very real to me. I know they are not about having an unsettled life that needs structure again, as I have an excellent job and great post-military career. I am finally settled in one spot and am very happy, so it can’t be an unhappy thing. Anyone else have these dreams?
Posted in these groups: Retirement logo RetirementSleep Sleeping
Edited >1 y ago
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Capt Ray Lummus
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I retired from Marines in 1994. VI had those sorts of dreams for around 5 or so years. Finally stopped having them.
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SGT Margaret McCann (Schmitt)
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I only did 3 year RA and 5 Reserve and NG and I still have recurring dreams about being back in the military. I am usually on a new tour in S. Korea or sometimes I waiting to get out of the service and I've missed my discharge date.
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SSG Don Maggart
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Edited >1 y ago
Always it was a good point and bad from when I was 17 to 29 Born on a Military Base raised in War by a LRRP Father forbidden to follow in his footsteps only to do so and lose him so young just coming to the realization of what the stories meant about Honor and Leadership and Command Ability. Authority is one thing I can authorize my dog to take out the trash but if the trash doesn't get taken out it's on me...laffs .it is up to us to pass this along Lean into It and Raise the next generation of War Fighters better than we ever imagined... They have the KSA and the Spirit...
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SCPO Bill Milani
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I also have dreams of being back in the service. I attribute these dreams to missing the service.
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Sgt Ronnie Mack
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Recurring dreams? No. Thoughts about it every single day, HELL YES!
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PO1 Raymond Sauter
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Hmmm...I've been out since 1991 after two hitches and still have dreams once in a while about going back in to finish up my "20" for retirement, Being back on a ship deployed on a WESTPAC cruise, Looking frantically for my dress blue jumper top or badly needing a haircut and hoping no one notices! I think my favorite is being out in town and wondering if maybe I forgot about having the "Duty" that day and was I on the watch bill? I will typically wake up nervously from those dreams, remember where I am, laugh about it, think "KISS MY ASS CHIEF!", roll over and go back to sleep! LOL

But then again, every once in a while I have this weird dream about being back in High School working towards my diploma but then it dawns on me "Wait a minute! I have a bachelor's degree and I am over 50! What the hell am I doing sitting in this classroom with all these kids?
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GySgt International It Pmo & Portfolio Manager
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I've been retired 16 years and still do. Usually I'm out of uniform or late or something else. I think they're pretty entertaining.
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PO1 Brian Carlson
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Edited >1 y ago
I've been retired for 15 years and I still have recurring dreams about the navy. Sometimes I am out of uniform and this Chief I worked for is asking me why I do not have a uniform. I have no answer for why I do not have a uniform. In my dreams I go to different duty stations that I have never been to in real life. I thought I was the only one who had dreams about my military service.

Some times my dreams are very violent. I think that is because of the drugs I'm taking for Parkinson's disease. I scream and wave my fists in the air and fall out of bed. The VA gave me Clorazapan, but it did nothing for me.
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Sgt Able Snider
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Rather frequently....
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Cpl Thomas Mcdonough
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Take 200 mil.seraqule you wont dream.
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SGT Larry Holland
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Me too. I even talked with a recruiter about it. He said that I would have to go back to basic. It maybe worth it.
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SPC Johnny Dagenhart
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I was drafted in 1972 while I was still in college (long story). Got out early in 1974. Had dreams for years that they came back to me and said they had made a mistake letting me out early and I had to come back and serve those last two months. I have to say that after going through all that way back then I have a great admiration for professional military people.
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A1C Melissa Jackson
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Yes, I do.
Sometimes they are dreams that center around going back because we are at war- and sometimes they involve things that happened.
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SPC Johnny Dagenhart
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Yes. I was drafted in 1972. At that time draftees served 2 years. I got out a couple of months early in 1974. I had dreams for a long time that they came back to me and said they had made a mistake and I had to come back and serve those last two months. This lasted for many years.
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PO1 Kyle Crippen
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I've been retired eight years, I have one reoccurring dream every night, but it is actually a memory. I just deal with that one, but I do have normal dreams about being back in, they normally have occurred after something jog an old memory.
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SCPO Don Baker
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Quite a few. Normally good times (liberty) or how I would have done something a little better.
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PO2 Seabee
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Dreams and Daydreams
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SSG Richard Reilly
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Formation dreams, PT dreams, and deployment dreams. The every day stuff is what I dream about.
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MSG James Crowell
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i still get up at 0430 hr and get every thing done and ready as i will need for the hold day as i did in the Army and i been out for now going on 16 years
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SSG James Elmore
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I was on a BMM detail doing gate guard and my wife kept telling me that I was mumbling the welcome praise to the base I was on at the time, in my sleep… I would call it more of a nightmare because it was a BCT/AIT post and on family day/ graduation day I had to say at around 700 times an hour!!!!
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